Men's Gender Roles

Gender roles are social expectations that dictate how each gender is to speak, think, act, and engage with each other. Over the past thousands of years men and women have been assigned certain roles and characteristics that each gender must demonstrate habitually. This of course includes men being portrayed as more masculine, rational and assertive than women. Women were often thought of as fragile, irrational, and delicate. The way in which people of these genders mold into the stereotype they are supposed to conform to varies by each person. It was not common to see a man that did not fit the exact mold of what a man should be during the early 1900’s. Men were often demonstrated as very masculine and they were in charge of the house. The …show more content…
As years went by women became more powerful than they were before. Women earned the right to vote and obtained jobs that some men obtained as well. This does not mean that both genders became equal because they did not. In this current decade, if you were to take a stroll into the city, you would see that there are many women and men who are walking around. Although both genders preoccupy the space in the city, it does not necessarily mean that the city is gender neutral. The city does not create equal access to everything for women and men. Women and men’s experience while in the city both differ. Many men do not worry as much as women when it comes to travelling in the city alone during the day and night. Women have to be more cautious and careful when it comes to who they surround themselves with and where they wander during the night. In Gill Valentines article, The Geography of Women’s Fear, she quotes a lady who speaks upon another woman being attacked. The young lady says “You hear it on the news and things about attacks and you wonder why that girl was out on her own anyway. I’m never going to let myself get into a situation where i’m alone, cos you don’t know who will be there”. This …show more content…
While growing up women are told where to go and where to stay away from, it is drilled into any woman’s mind that they are targets(Valentine p386). Women are taught to be safe and mindful of where they go because at any given moment they will and can become the new headline of their local newspaper and news broadcasting channel. Mental maps are created by women to circumvent places that are filled by many males and lack public safety. This map also includes time restrictions. These time restrictions tells them when they should and should not go to a public space that may be public at a certain time but then vacant and private at another time(Valentine p386). This is not something that men often find themselves doing seeing as that they are the primary attackers. Men are also not victims of catcalling. While some men may be catcalled is it not as frequent for them as it is for women(Valentine p386). Women often find their private space being invaded while in public by construction workers and men who catcall them(Valentine p386). These actions play a part in the construction of a woman’s mental map. If one goes to a place and is frequently disturbed and harassed, then he or she is less likely to go to said area and more likely to avoid it. That is what being a woman is like, creating